Modular packaging and holder for tool bits

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a modular bit holder which stores and displays a single bit, and can be linked with other such bit holders to form a variable set. A bit is inserted in one end of the holder and is held in place by a flange. To remove the bit, a second bit is forced into the holder, displacing the first bit to a holding position from which it can be removed. Each holder has means along either side of it to removably attach it in side-by-side fashion to another similar holder.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to holders and packaging for elongated objectssuch as drill bits, screwdriver bits and the like.

BACKGROUND ART

Typically tool bits, such as power drill bits, are sold in sets of 8 to12 bits of sequential sizes, carried in a plastic carrying case whichalso functions to store the bits at the owner's workbench. A problemwith such an approach to the marketing of bits is that it restricts thepurchaser's flexibility in the selection and storing of various bitsizes. For example, a purchaser will be forced to acquire separately asize of bit not included in the pre-packaged selection and will beunable to store the bit in the plastic package which contains theinitial set.

Other tool bits are also amenable to sale and storage in sets, such asscrewdriver bits for power drivers or for multiple-bit screwdrivers,such as those sold under the trade-mark PIC-QUIC™ which is disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 4,924,733. Currently there is no convenient means forvending and storing such bits in variable sets.

There is therefore a need for a convenient means for vending and storingtool bits singly or in variable sets.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The present invention discloses a modular bit holder which stores anddisplays a single bit, and can be linked with other such bit holders toform a variable set. A bit is inserted in one end of the holder, and isheld temporarily in place by a spring or other means. To remove the bit,a second bit is forced into the holder, displacing the first bit to aholding position from which it can be removed. Each holder has meansalong either side of it to removably attach it in side-by-side fashionto another similar holder.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In drawings which disclose a preferred embodiment of the invention:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the inventionholding a bit;

FIG. 2 is an plan view of four bit holders according to the inventionconnected in series to form a set;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the bit holder of the invention shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the invention in cross-section along line 4--4of FIG. 7, with a second bit shown displacing a first bit;

FIG. 5 is a top cross-sectional view of the invention along lone 5--5 ofFIG. 8;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the invention as shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a cross-section taken along lines 7--7 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a cross-section taken along lines 8--8 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a cross-section of a second embodiment of the invention takenalong lines 9--9 of FIG. 10; and

FIG. 10 is a cross-section taken along lines 10--10 of FIG. 9.

BEST MODE(S) FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

With reference to FIG. 1 through 3, a first embodiment of the bit holderof the invention, designed for the "stubby" type of short screwdriverbit, is designated generally by reference numeral 10. It consists of asingle-piece moulded plastic body 12, preferably of a plastic such asABS which provides a certain amount of memory for the spring portionnoted below, and of a thickness about 0.19 cm. Body 12 has a rear face13 and hollow core 14, open at either end and roughly hexagonal incross-section, which receives a bit 16. The entire body 12 is about 5.5cm. long. A rectangular notch 20 is cut in the front face 15 of the body12 to form a window through which the head of bit 16 can be viewed. Aflange 22 is provided with a hole 24 by means of which the holder can behung from a peg or hook.

The bit 16 is held in place in the central core 14 of holder 10 by aspring or flap 30 formed by slots on three of its sides in the rear face13 of body 12. Spring 30 has a bump or dimple 32 on its inner surface.Due to the resiliency of the plastic material from which body 12 isformed, spring 30 is biased to a position in which it lies in the sameplane as the rear face 13 of body 12, in which position dimple 32extends into the interior of hollow core 14. Hollow core 14 is sized tobe slightly larger in dimension than the outer dimension of bit 16 sothat flap 30 is forced outwardly when the end of the bit 16 is insertedinto the hollow core 14, and dimple 32 presses against the side of thebit 16. In bits such as the standard screwdriver bits used inmultiple-bit screwdrivers, such as those sold under the trade-markPIC-QUIC™ which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,924,733, there is anannular groove adjacent one end of the bit into which dimple 32 will fitto secure the bit in place lengthwise in the holder. However, in theshorter "stubby" version shown in FIG. 4, there is no such groove, thebit is secured by friction of the dimple 32 on the side of the bit. Toincrease this contact, the top surface if the dimple may be flattened.Also, preferably the outer surface 31 of spring 30 is tapered so that itremains flush with the outer surface of body 12 when the bit 16 is inplace.

A second flap 38 and related dimple 39 are provided on rear face 13 sothat when a second bit 17 is inserted into the end 40 of the hollow coreto eject the first bit 16, the second dimple 39 will bear against theside of bit 16 to secure it temporarily in the end of the holder untilthe user grasps bit 16 and removes it.

In operation therefore a single bit may be sold to the purchaserpackaged in holder 10. The user, in order to remove the bit 16 from thepackage, inserts another bit or some other elongated object, into theend 40 of the hollow core, causing bit 16 to be displaced by the lengthof the second bit. The user then grasps and removes bit 16. The holdercan be hung on a peg or the like extending through hole 24 for storagepurposes.

Holder 10 is also provided with means for inter-connecting any number ofsimilar holders into a unitary set. This means in the preferredembodiment is a sort of dovetail joint, consisting of a dovetail tenon42, formed on side 44 of the body 12, and a complementary dovetailmortise 45, formed on side 46 of body 12. The upper edge of the mortise45 is open so that the joint can be completed by placing the tenon 42 ofa first holder 10 in alignment above the corresponding mortise 45 of asecond holder and sliding the first holder downwardly so that tenon 42slides into mortise 45, until the two holders are in the same plane andthe lower edge 47 of tenon 42 abuts against shoulder 49 at the loweredge of mortise 46 formed by the upper surface of rear face 13. In thisway any number of holders can be attached side-by-side, as shown in FIG.2, and various sizes and types of bits can be combined into a singleset, whether for sale or storage.

As shown in FIG. 7 and 8, the upper edge 50 of dovetail tenon 42 may berounded to match the corresponding shoulder 52 of the adjacent holderwhen two holders joined.

FIG. 9 and 10 illustrate a second embodiment of the invention asdesigned for the standard size screwdriver used in the multiple-bitscrewdrivers such as those sold under the trade-mark PIC-QUIC™, in whichthere is an annular grove adjacent one end of the bit into which dimple32 will fit to secure the bit in place lengthwise in the holder. In thisembodiment the holder is longer, about 4 inches, with two viewingwindows 20. Since the dimples 32, 39 sit in the grooves in the bits whenthe bits are in place, it is not necessary that the outer surfaces ofsprings 30, 38 be tapered to remain flush with the outer surface of rearface 13. Otherwise this embodiment functions the same as the firstembodiment.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described inrelation to the storage of bits for multiple-bit screwdrivers, it willbe apparent that the invention also has application to the storage ofother types of tool bits or indeed other elongated cylindrical objects.

What is claimed is:
 1. A storage container for a tool bit having alength L and diameter D, comprising:a) a hollow body having a frontwall, a rear wall, first and second side walls and first and secondends, said hollow body being open at said first and second ends, saidfront, rear and side walls forming a central chamber extending betweensaid first and second ends of said hollow body having a diameter greaterthan D and a length greater than L for receiving and enclosing a singletool bit: b) first means positioned in said central chamber forreleasably retaining a tool bit in a first position in said chamberadjacent a first end of said chamber; c) second means for releasablyretaining a tool bit in a second position in said central chamber at adistance greater than L from said first end of said chamber; and d)means provided on each of said first and second side walls forreleasably securing each of said side walls to a wall of an adjacenttool bit storage container.
 2. The storage container of claim 1 whereinsaid front wall is provided with an opening located so as to permit theviewing of a head of a tool bit when a tool bit is in said firstposition.
 3. The container of claim 1 wherein said first and secondmeans for releasably retaining each comprises a movable member biassedto protrude into the interior of said chamber and thereby makefrictional contact with a tool bit located in said chamber.
 4. Thecontainer of claim 3 wherein each said movable member comprises anelongated flap flexibly joining said hollow body at one end of said flapand free to move at the other end of said flap.
 5. The container ofclaim 4 wherein each said movable member further comprises a raisedprotrusion on the freely moving end of said elongated flap forcontacting a tool bit.
 6. The container of claim 1 wherein said meansfor releasably securing each of said side walls to a wall of an adjacentcontainer comprises a tenon on said first side wall of said hollow bodyand a mortise on said second side wall of said hollow body.
 7. Thecontainer of claim 1 further comprising means for hanging said body fromone of a nail, hook and peg.
 8. A plurality of storage container fortool bits, each bit having a length L and diameter D, each storagecontainer comprising:a) a hollow body having a front wall, a rear wall,first and second side walls and first and second ends, said hollow bodybeing open at said first and second ends, said front, rear and sidewalls forming a central chamber extending between said first and secondends of said hollow body having a diameter greater than D and a lengthgreater than L for receiving and enclosing a single tool bit: b) firstmeans positioned in said central chamber for releasably retaining a toolbit in a first position in said chamber adjacent a first end of saidchamber; c) second means for releasably retaining a tool bit in a secondposition in said central chamber at a distance greater than L from saidfirst end of said chamber; and d) means provided on each of said firstand second side walls for releasably securing each of said side walls toa side wall of another of said plurality of tool bit storage containers.9. The plurality of storage containers of claim 8 wherein said means forreleasably securing each of said side walls to a side wall of another ofsaid plurality of tool bit storage containers comprises a tenon on saidfirst side wall of said hollow body and a mortise on said second sidewall of said hollow body.
 10. A storage container for a tool bit havinga length L and diameter D, comprising:a) a hollow body having a frontwall, a rear wall, first and second side walls and first and secondends, said hollow body being open at said first and second ends, saidfront, rear and side walls forming a central chamber extending betweensaid first and second ends of said hollow body having a diameter greaterthan D and a length greater than L for receiving and enclosing a singletool bit: b) first means positioned in said central chamber forreleasably retaining a tool bit in a first position in said chamberadjacent a first end of said chamber; c) second means for releasablyretaining a tool bit in a second position in said central chamber at adistance greater than L from said first end of said chamber; and d)means provided on each of said first and second side walls forreleasably securing each of said side walls to a wall of an adjacenttool bit storage container; wherein said first and second means forreleasably retaining each comprises a movable member biassed to protrudeinto the interior of said chamber and thereby make frictional contactwith a tool bit located in said chamber.
 11. The container of claim 10wherein each said movable member comprises an elongated flap flexiblyjoining said hollow body at one end of said flap and free to move at theother end of said flap.
 12. The container of claim 11 wherein each saidmovable member further comprises a raised protrusion on the freelymoving end of said elongated flap for contacting a tool bit.